Kate Nicholls
This archive features our reporting on Kate Nicholls OBE — a key voice in the UK’s hospitality and foodservice policy landscape. As Chair of UKHospitality, Nicholls plays a central role in lobbying government, shaping regulation, and influencing the commercial environment in which restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés, and catering firms operate. Catering Today covers Nicholls’ statements, policy positions, and leadership activity because her work directly affects the trading conditions, labour challenges, and long-term resilience of foodservice businesses. For operators navigating rising costs, staffing pressures, or post-pandemic recovery, her advocacy and insights are both timely and consequential.
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Sep- 2025 -11 SeptemberTrade Associations
UKH welcomes business rates reform but urges maximum discount
UKHospitality has said government proposals to reform business rates are a “positive” move but stressed the need for a maximum discount to be applied at the Budget. It comes after an interim report on reform, published yesterday (10 September), outlined measures including changes to Small Business Rates Relief and adjustments…
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8 SeptemberBusiness
UKH: Tube strike ‘to cost London hospitality £110m’
London’s hospitality and tourism businesses could lose up to £110m because of this week’s tube strike, according to industry body UKHospitality. Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said consumer cancellations and travel disruption for staff would add further pressure to a sector already under strain. It comes as most London Underground…
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2 SeptemberCatering Companies
Contract caterers’ sales rise 8% in Q2
Contract caterers saw sales and outlets “sharply” rise by 8% in the second quarter of 2025, according the latest Contract Catering Tracker from CGA by NIQ, Bidfood and UKHospitality. This continued a “long run of growth” in every quarter since mid-2021, when caterers began to recover from the pandemic. After…
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Aug- 2025 -26 AugustBusiness
Hospitality jobs account for 53% of post-Budget losses, UKH finds
Hospitality has accounted for more than half of all job losses in the UK since the Budget last October, according to new analysis by trade body UKHospitality. Of the 164,641 jobs lost nationwide since the Budget, 88,964 were in hospitality. The figures, based on data from the Office for National…
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14 AugustEducation
UKH unveils new apprentice programme
UKHospitality has unveiled the Hospitality Graduate Apprenticeship Programme for A Level, T Level and Level 3 Vocational Technical Qualifications (VTQs) graduates. Launching this September, the five-year, work-based programme is designed to create a pipeline of future hospitality leaders, offering an alternative to the traditional graduate route. The five year programme…
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5 AugustBusiness
Hospitality sector has shrunk by 14.2% since March 2020, CGA finds
The hospitality sector is 14.2% smaller in August 2025 than it was in March 2020 before the first covid lockdown, according to data from CGA and Alix Partners. It comes as the sector has seen 62 net closures per month, or two a day since the beginning of the year.…
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Jul- 2025 -28 JulyGovernment
Govt to fast-track new cafes and bars with planning reforms
The government has announced that cafes, bars and music venues could soon replace empty shops under its new plans to relax licensing and planning rules, in a bid to revive town centres. The reforms, which were announced on Sunday (27 July), will form part of the forthcoming Small Business Plan,…
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25 JulyFeatures
Can leadership programmes solve hospitality’s recruitment woes?
The UK hospitality sector is facing one of its most significant challenges in years. According to UKHospitality, the industry has shed 69,000 jobs since October 2024, a sharp reversal from the previous year when 18,000 roles were created in the same period. Job losses in the sector have been three…
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17 JulyBusiness
Hospitality hit hardest by job losses, ONS data shows
Hospitality has been the hardest hit sector of the economy since the Budget, accounting for nearly half (45%) of all job losses, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. The data shows that hospitality has now lost 84,000 jobs since the budget, an increase of 13,000 job losses…
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16 JulyPubs and Bars
Oasis comeback helps boost hospitality sales, UKH finds
Hospitality operators in Manchester, Edinburgh and London can expect a welcome boost to trade when Oasis come to town for their reunion shows over the next few weeks, according to data from UKHospitality. The first shows of the tour, held at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Friday 4 and Saturday 5…
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